09-07-2014
• http://www.onfirenn.com
The exercises, provocatively named "Rapid Trident," are said to be "a sign of the commitment of NATO states to support non-NATO member Ukraine?"

As the civil war rages on in Kiev, with US-backed troops from Kiev fighting to suppress an independence movement in the east, the presence of US troops on Ukrainian soil sends a perhaps dangerously clear message of US willingness to become further involved in Ukraine's internal affairs. Russia has been accused of military involvement on behalf of those seeking independence from Kiev, but Moscow denies any official Russian role.

President Obama said Wednesday he wants "American boots on the ground, continuously rotating through Estonia and Latvia and Lithuania," in response to Russian "aggression" in the region.

Also this week, President Obama signed off on yet another deployment of US troops back to Iraq, bringing the total number to over 1,000. US air strikes on Iraqi territory have continued for several weeks and though the Obama administration claims these additional troops will have no combat role, he also claimed not long ago that there would be no US combat troops returning to Iraq at all.

President Obama spoke yesterday on the importance of respecting national sovereignty in advance of the NATO summit: